The Prayer of Ignatius

Tags

holy surrender, John Foley, prayer, readiness, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Louis Jesuits, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sometimes there is a possibility of finding poem or a piece of music or some other way of expression that approximates an inner state. Here’s what I mean.

During the prolific period of “new music” for liturgy in the Catholic Church, especially in the 1970s, there was a group called The St. Louis Jesuits who produced an abundance of beautiful songs that lifted the spirits of millions of churchgoers and others in powerful ways. These men and their music continue to be revered for their interpretations of Scriptural texts and traditional prayers written in the 16th century by St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the religious community, the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits. There is a rich history to be learned from and about them, but I digress as this is a very personal story.

I am grateful to St. Ignatius and to the St. Louis Jesuits for the song entitled Take, Lord, Receive by John Foley (easily found the internet) based on the famous prayer of holy surrender. In addition to the beautifully simple and straightforward text and music being sung, I also find myself moving in a dance that completes the experience. Simple gestures of bowing and reaching with raised arms…or whatever feels right can deepen the prayer in ways that words alone or words and music reach for but often do not achieve.

It is a struggle to explain an experience that is wordless. My suggestion is to give yourself the permission to be in the experience and see what happens. Listen first to the song in silence, then open your heart in surrender, and finally move the experience to its fullness in the dance. Remembering that repetition is a necessary component of any spiritual practice, it may take awhile, rather than just one attempt. But here’s a secret: “The readiness is all” and there are no failures possible.

Clay Work

Tags

Divine Potter, jeremiah, potter, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, work in progress

The first lectionary reading for today is quite familiar to me, more from liturgical music than from the text of Jeremiah the prophet (18: 1-6). We sing: “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are we to you, O God…” (That may not be an exact rendition, but I know I have the tune right!) Most familiar to most younger churchgoers of the 1970s is Carey Landry’s song, Abba, Father, attesting that “You (God) are the Potter, we are the clay: the work of your hands…”

Watching a potter at the wheel can be fascinating but I have learned (only from watching, of course) that it is not as smooth or easy as it seems. And, having endured workshops where the goal was creating something out of quick-drying clay, I know that it is more difficult for most of us than we would care to admit. So I have to give God a lot of credit today for the willingness to form us all—especially uniquely—into the works of art that we become once we let go of the hard edges and rigidity of thought that keep us as “works in process.” While God may feel a need to re-form us on occasion, I am ever grateful for the patience that stops the Creator from smashing us in frustration and I trust implicitly that “the kindness of the Lord endures forever,” no matter how long it takes for us to allow the creation.

Where Your Treasure Is…

Tags

clutter, freedom, freeing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, treasure

As many people have, I’ve been taking the opportunity lately that working from home affords me to do the things I never have time for. My latest and greatest effort has been getting rid of much of what I no longer need. I am amazed at how difficult a task it has become because of all the things that I call “mine.” They are not, in the grand scheme of things, what people might see as “treasures” but they are meaningful. to me for various reasons—mostly sentimental. It has been a difficult but freeing thing to divest myself of what I no longer need, and what ultimately helps me to remember that, as the Scriptures say, where your treasure is, there also is your heart. And there is much more space for the inner things that I value. Less clutter = more freedom in every way.

Try it! I highly recommend letting go!

Seeds

Tags

faith, Genesis, growth, Holy Week, Matthew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It’s amazing how much life there is in seeds. Some are so small they can hardly be seen and it takes trust to even put them in the ground without throwing in a whole fistful. When I was in a gardening phase of my life I wondered what was the reason for the differences among them, including size. Then it occurred to me that even animals and humans start that way and the amazement comes with the exponential growth during the gestation period. That brought me, of course, back to the creation story in Genesis that I love to hear during Holy Week and then forward again to the days in spring when all the flowers and trees begin to bud and then burst into their marvelous diversity. God really was (and remains) very prolific and generous in creating our world.

So what, then, should we make of the parable of the mustard seed in today’s gospel as a sign of the kingdom of heaven? (MT 13:31-35) Something very large and glorious, I suspect. Be sure to look around today, lest you miss the manifestations everywhere.

Good Grandparents

Tags

compassion, Jesus, King Solomon, kingdom of heaven, Kings, Matthew, psalm 119, Romans, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, treasure, understanding heart

Today we celebrate Saints Anne and Joachim, parents of Mary, Mother of Jesus. If we ever needed to speak of what makes up the image of a good grandparent or any person of wisdom, each of today’s readings is a noble start:

1. In a dream God invites Solomon to ask for something that will help him in his life. It is a beautiful exchange (1 KGS 3:5, 7-12) wherein Solomon shows his wisdom, asking God: Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.
2. In Psalm 119:77, the psalmist asks God: Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.
3. Paul reminds the Romans (8:28): We know that all things work for good for those who love God…
4. And, in conclusion, Jesus tells his disciples (MT 13: 44…) The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Are you ready, with all the above currency, to go and buy the field?

Lineage

We don’t know much about St. James whose feast is celebrated today. He and his brother John were fishermen who left their nets to follow Jesus. That, in itself, was rather miraculous. They were likely not rich enough to go off tromping around the countryside as companions to the Teacher who had called them to new life. What do you think was the inner knowing that impelled them and the others? And what might have been the reaction of their family to their decision? Whatever it was, these “sons of thunder” were willing to give their lives to and for the mission of Jesus. Tradition tells us that James was likely the first apostle to be martyred (noted in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 12) so his commitment was firm for the rest of his life.

What stood out to me this morning in the narrative from the “Saint of the Day” section of the Franciscan Media site was the chronological information that is always found at the beginning of the saint’s biography. It read simply: (d. 44). We don’t know when he was born or how old he was at the time of his death, only that King Herod had James murdered in the year 44 of the Christian Era, about a decade after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Here I sit, on a different continent, 1,976 years after the death of this man, of whom I know little except that he left everything to follow Jesus. It comes to my mind that I did the same. My life is totally different from that of James. (I have never even caught a fish!) I cannot claim to have “seen the Lord” in the flesh. I can only testify that something called me to this life early on in my own and still holds sway 53 years after I left my home to follow Christ. That is, to me, a strength of Christianity – that simple people, fishermen and teenagers, as well as extraordinary people of every description have declared Jesus the Christ as their center point and way leading to divine life. That is a heritage, flawed and wondrous as it is, that I claim and celebrate with all the saints of the last 2,000 years!

Early Morning Inspiration

I woke up today with the word INSPIRE floating in my consciousness. I didn’t know what I was meant to do with it but I supposed it had to do with yesterday’s blog topic of “Connections.” I was feeling a bit adventurous as I turned on my computer. First I entered the word inspire looking for synonyms. Trust me, there are many! I liked the most active ones, like “urge or spur on to something creative” or “motivate” but was content as well with words like influence and guide. Then I was reminded that the first thing I had thought (when only half awake!) was about breathing in, the most simple and natural thing that we do – in addition to exhaling, of course.

So the reality that something so simple is also the most essential thing we do all day, every day (lest we expire before our time!) makes me want to be as alert as possible all day long! May it be so with all of us.

Connections

Spiritual practice is becoming a vast arena in which we can all find something that serves us in our spiritual need for connection to our “higher selves,” God or “the Divine” – however we name what is deepest in us. The Sophia Center offers an ongoing series of book studies, occasionally using other than a regular book. We have offered poetry, art, logia of the Gospel of Thomas, etc. as well as meditation, all ways of connecting, hoping that at one time or another the participants will find what speaks to them in a way that touches a new and unique spark, leading deeper into grace.

Yesterday, in our afternoon and evening sessions of our bi-monthly gatherings, we listened to and then discussed brief segments of a Musecast of Jan Phillips, recorded on June 21st of this year. The resulting conversations were extraordinary. Much of what we heard was from Jan’s book, Creativity Unzipped and all was worth our reflection. The strength of the meeting for me, however, was in the sharing, wherein we came to see and understand what was stirring within us in response to Jan’s invitation to deep reflection and a calling to hope in this moment so different from “normal life.” Here is my favorite part:

As creators, we too are responding constantly to the world around us. Every unfolding event is grist for the mill, every human adventure, every relationship, every challenge, every headline. We are stimulated by outside events and we respond creatively, though the seed might take years to come to fruition. The creative process often calls for deep patience, long periods of reflection and incubation. There is no rushing it, any more than one can naturally rush the birth of a baby. Our creations arrive on their own terms in their own time.

What I heard myself express when I spoke in the group was a retrospective of how all my various ministry positions had led me to just this moment when I am so desirous of helping others to connect with one another on our journey toward deeper oneness. It was a truly graced moment because of Jan’s speaking in addition to the attention of those receiving the message and the energy they offered me in hearing of my experience.

I heartily recommend your reflection on the italicized paragraph above. Read it aloud if possible! Contexualize it in your own experience and see if it holds true for you. What can you learn for the exercise?

What’s In A Name?

Have you ever had a “nickname” that was particular to only one person or maybe your family members? Does it sound strange if someone else uses it? Does the inflection in the way a special person says your name enhance the meaning? Of course it does. It’s all about relationship. Today’s gospel, on this feast celebrating Mary Magdalene, is a good example of that reality. (JN 20: 1-2, 11-18)

Mary Magdalene has gone to the tomb where Jesus has been laid and found it empty. She is bereft and runs to tell the disciples that someone has moved the body. She then returns to the tomb and remains there weeping. When the person that Mary mistakes for the gardener asks why she is weeping, she does not recognize him as Jesus until he says her name: “Mary.” It must have been the way he said it because – at least in our time and place – Mary is perhaps the most common name for a girl. It has to be the way he said it that made her recognize him, the one she loved more than anyone else in the world, the one who loved her unconditionally.

Each of us is loved that way by God. It may take a lifetime for us to recognize it, to hear it reverberate in our heart. We ought to listen closely as others speak our name to feel the love that accompanies the sound of it, to come to know the beauty that we are, unique in all the world.

Make Your Bed!

I just read Brian Johnson’s “Optimize” message for the day and I am in total agreement with his recounting of a “#1 tip for life,” courtesy of a Navy seal named Admiral McRaven. (See how we need a community to live in this world? You are getting this tip 4th-hand – unless you read http://www.optimize.me, in which case it would be 3rd. Thanks to Brian today!)

In considering the”dark moments” in our life, McRaven offers a “protocol that will ensure I have the emotional stamina and antifragile confidence when I need it most.” This dedicated and disciplined Navy seal says (in capital letters): MAKE YOUR BED! Here’s the reasoning. As most directives in the military, everything must be done precisely and perfectly. Were the corners tucked in just right…the pillow centered at the top of the bed and intersected at a 90-degree angle with the blanket at the bottom, etc. This practice, according to McRaven “demonstrated my discipline. It showed my attention to detail, and at the end of the day it would be a reminder that I had done something well, something to be proud of, no matter how small the task.” The bottom line of all this is, of course, a reminder that if you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.

Each of us can probably think of something like this – a routine that was taught to us sometime earlier in life that remains with us today. If you come up empty when you think about that, think of something to start doing today. If nothing else, the example given is a good one: MAKE YOUR BED.

And trust that it will be a good day!